In March, Affleck addressed those very quotes in his cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, saying that his words were “mischaracterized” in order to make “clickbait.”
“I was trying to say, ‘Hey, look, I was drinking too much, and the less happy you become, whether it’s your job, your marriage, it’s just that as your life becomes more difficult, if you’re doing things to fill a hole that aren’t healthy, you’re going to start doing more of those things,'” he added. “I think I was pretty articulate about that.”
Affleck noted of Garner at the time, “We loved each other. We care about each other. We have respect for each other.”